Useful tips

How do you address an elder in Korean?

How do you address an elder in Korean?

누나 (nuna, “older sister”), used by males to address a slightly elder female. 오빠 (oppa, “older brother”), used by females to address a slightly elder male. 형 (hyeong, “older brother”), used by males to address a slightly elder male. 아줌마 (ajumma, “middle aged woman”)

What do Koreans call their upperclassmen?

선배 (seonbae or sometimes romanized as sunbae in Korean) means “upperclassman” or “senior”. You’ll often attach 님 (nim) to the title when talking to or about your upperclassmen. The opposite would be 후배님 (hubaenim), where 후배 (hubae) means “junior” and someone younger or in a lower grade than you.

How do you refer to someone younger in Korean?

In general, don’t use 여동생 (yeodongsaeng) or 남동생 (namedongsaeng) to call someone who’s younger than you. Call them by their name, such as 지민아 (jimina), 혜지야 (hyejiya). If you don’t have a Korean name, there won’t be any 아 or 야 after your name, so it will be only 제이슨 (jeiseun), 테레사 (teresa), 민탕 (mintang), 리하오 (rihao).

What is NIM in Korean?

-nim (as an affix) is used as a commonplace honorific for guests, customers, clients, and unfamiliar individuals. -nim is also used towards someone who is revered and admired for having a significant amount of skill, intellect, knowledge, etc. and is used for people who are of a higher rank than oneself.

What does honorifics mean in Korean?

Honorific terms in Korean are special titles, words, and verbs that are used to refer to people older than you or higher than you in the social hierarchy. They are used to show respect and distance in the hierarchy. Korean honorifics are generally broken down into nouns, pronouns, titles, and verbs.

What is a Sunbae?

Sunbae(선배, 先輩) is a word that refers to people with more experience (at work, school, etc), and hoobae(후배, 後輩) refers to people with less experience. Generally, hoobaes have to use jondaetmal(존댓말, honorific language) to sunbaes, meaning they have to speak very politely and treat them with respect.